The awful news from Haiti is still unclear, but one fact stands out already. On October 17, 1989, an earthquake registering 7.1 on the Richter scale hit the San Francisco Bay area. 62 people died. The earthquake that hit Port-au-Prince, Haiti, yesterday was the same intensity, 7.1. But the death toll is already estimated in the thousands.
Poor people build unsafe houses in unsafe areas. How, then, can we speak of "natural" disasters?
Readers of this site may remember the Haitian photographer, Daniel Morel, who I wrote about recently. He is in Port-au-Prince, safe, and photographing. twitter.com/photomorel Also thankfully alive and well there is Richard Morse, the founder of the band RAM and owner of the legendary Oloffson Hotel; you can follow him at twitter.com/RAMhaiti.
